Army coach Sottolano has always been driven

Thursday

May 31, 2012 at 2:00 AM

WEST POINT — There was a knock on the door and in came Army senior co-captain J.T. Watkins escorting sophomore reliever Gunnar Carroll.

Kevin Gleason

WEST POINT — There was a knock on the door and in came Army senior co-captain J.T. Watkins escorting sophomore reliever Gunnar Carroll. There he was, a kid named Gunnar, fresh off three scoreless innings in Army's biggest game of the season, a kid who grew up 35 minutes from the University of Virginia and chose Army over the Cavaliers in part because of the man standing before him.

"Coach,'' Carroll began inside Joe Sottolano's room underneath Doubleday Field, "I just want to thank you for sticking with me today. It means a lot to me, it really does.''

Sottolano, probably having his best year of 13 seasons as head coach, stayed with Carroll in the eighth inning of Army's 8-4 win over Holy Cross that clinched the Patriot League tournament title and a berth in the NCAA tourney beginning Friday. Carroll had gone 2-and-0 on Alex Maldonado leading off the eighth and watched a mass of teammates head to the right-field bullpen. Carroll walked Maldonado and dug himself a little hole with another walk to open the ninth.

Sometimes a coach eschews matchup trends or signs of weariness from his pitcher. Sometimes a coach goes with his own gut because he knows his players' guts. They call it belief. Carroll stayed on the mound.

Now Sottolano was feeling a rare moment of being caught off guard. Unsure quite what to say, clearly touched, his face softened and they embraced. When Carroll left, escorted out by Watkins because the Academy, and the Black Knights, are about protocol, Sottolano looked at a visitor and allowed an appreciative nod.

"It means a lot that he would stick with me and he trusted me with a game of that gravity,'' Carroll said a week later, minutes after Army's name went up on the TV screen beside top-seeded Virginia, the school he almost attended and his opponent in the Charlottesville regional opener. "I've picked up so many things from him. I've learned a lot about organization, being accountable for your actions. I've learned a lot about professionalism. He's not going to BS you.''

This is one of the reasons Sottolano has said no thanks when calls have arrived from interested schools. This is why Sottolano has never interviewed for another job despite leading Army to six Patriot tourney titles and five NCAA appearances. He will never find a better fit, a disciplinarian with an intense, almost maniacal, passion for the game, his foundation based around mutual respect and following direction, at an institution that preaches character. Sottolano appreciates this job, and especially this place, where loyalty and commitment are rules, not options. And, as a 1986 Minisink Valley High graduate, he gets to do it within an hour from home.

"Everything at West Point is about respecting each other,'' Sottolano said. "Every day we throw batting practice, someone says 'Thank you.' ''

He demands a lot because he expects a lot. Ask any of his players, from the meekest freshman to the most hardened senior, no one has been spared his wrath. It's a discipline born from that old parent tenet -- do something right or don't do it at all -- that Richie Sottolano told his boy at the earliest age of comprehension. His bedroom was always meticulously neat, his organizational skills rivaling that of dad, a semi-retired home improvement specialist who can tell you the precise location of every single tool in his home.

"He's so passionate about what he does,'' Richie said. "He's always been that way. Anybody who has played against him or with him throughout sports have all used the same words to describe him -- he's the most intense person you'll ever meet.''

That intensity was sometimes channeled incorrectly as a kid, his quest for perfection delivering outbursts that altered his focus. Sottolano chalks it up to youthful immaturity, a November baby among the youngest kids in each class.

"What I've really learned is how to be real intense and stay focused,'' he said.

"He's going to get the most out of everything you have,'' said senior first baseman and closer Kevin McKague. "He is so knowledgeable of the game. He definitely gets after you, but he does it because he loves you. He's done wonders for this whole team.''

Sottolano had a brilliant career as a left-handed pitcher at Ithaca, and was named the most outstanding player of the Division III World Series as a sophomore in leading the Bombers to the national title. He sponged off high school coach Jim Distefano and then Ithaca's George Valesente, a taskmaster still coaching at the school.

"Joe Sottolano should have been playing in the majors -- there's no doubt in my mind,'' Distefano said. He ticked off Sottolano's two-season numbers at Minisink Valley -- 17 wins and 217 strikeouts in 130.﻿2 innings as the team went 42-6. "But you know what? He's a winner. I called that group of kids my baseball bunch because that's all they thought about was baseball.''

Sottolano's fastball went from the high 80s as a sophomore to the mid-80s with a 79 mph slider as a junior and the scouts disappeared. "I didn't get the call,'' he told his dad over the phone when he went undrafted as a senior.

"Joe,'' Richie told him, "I understand your disappointment. But God has something else for you. You are going to be successful at whatever you do.''

Sottolano's Black Knights were rocked by graduation losses and chosen to finish third this season in the Patriot League by coaches and sports information officials. Instead, Army rattled off a 17-0 Patriot League record before finishing 18-2 in the league and 41-13 overall, a school record for wins.

Now Army faces the tall order of winning its four-team NCAA regional as the fourth seed. Sottolano has every player believing they will do it.

"At the end of the day,'' freshman third baseman Harold Earls said, "Joe has made us better people.''